The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-03-20
CHARTER IDEAS.
HOW TO IMPROVE THE CITY
INTERVIEWS WITH PROMINENT CITIZENS
or PAlATkA.
Divide the Cit, into wards, Each With One Alder
man Valuation Tor Tna'Ion Street
Improvements.

What IL your idea as Ia "a city char
teri! was asked of a prominent business
man of Palatka yesterday.
My idea IL that the city should be
divided into wards. and the Aldermen
elected by wards. one from each. There
should be- at least nine Aldermen, and,
therefore. as many wards. This would
insure the election of representative
men from every part of the city and
make sure that the interests of the
whole city would be cared for, not that
of u section alone"
Anything elseg
Yes. there In something else more
important still i'm my estimation. At
present. you know. the city taxes are as
sessed on the valuation made 10y the
county. That ought 10 be changed. The
city should he allowed to make her own
valuation of the property of her citizens,
as well as collect her own taxes. with
out regard to the county. That ] regard
as one of the most important changes
that can he made by the new charter"
There should he some better provis-
you think 50:
Yes. that is another suggestion
would make. The city must be improved,
and on an intelligent plan, too. The work
should not be done at the general ex-
expense IL the streets are improved in
front of your premises, enhancing the
value of your property, it is not right
that the expense should all he paid out
Of the general levy. ASSESS one-third of
the expense Of the abutting property on
each side and collect the money from
the owners with the other taxes. Let
the city pay the remaining one-third.
and all the cost of the intersections. of
course.
I'VE need good sidewalk law. The
city should be improved throughout
with good sidewalks so that visitors and
our own citizens should be able to walk
around without toiling through the sand.
The owners Of property should he COM
pelled To build side walks and where "a
property owner will not make n good
sidewalk i'm front Of his property the
city should do it for him and collect the
money with the other taxes. There
should bc some regulation as TO side
walks No man should he allowed, for
instance. to throw a little sawdust in
front of his place and claim that he had
made "A sidewalk. Good sidewalks not
only add tn the appearance Of city and
the comfort of the citizen; they also aid
in the prosperity Of the city; draw bust
ness to il"
But the roadways should he improv-
ed. too"
YES. We ought Ia have AT least one
good street. Lemon street. for instance.
should be shelled as far as the junction.
That at least should be done.
do you think il would he possible To
collect the the taxes for the improve
nuents?"
Not all. under the present system.
There should he an improvement in our
tax laws. So long as the delinquent
taxes can be collected only on the real
estate. there will be people here who will
laugh al the law and tell you to go
ahead and sell their property. They
don't care, for you know no title passes
with the tax sale in this State. Let the
sheriff levy on a mans personal prop
erty wherever he can find it and actu-
! ally deliver the goodssto the purchaser.
If he can find no personal property. then
/ let him levy on the real estate. not be-
fore. That is the only way to catch the
skulkers.'
: What do You say to changing the
/ government of the city There is some
need of that "
Yes. | believe the powers Of the
/ Mayor should I've enlarged. He has no
/ power now. He is only police magis-
trate. liable to he awakened in the
middle of the night, or called out OF
church to attend to some petty case
There are plenty Of good men who will
not take the Office of Mayor becauS,
they do not want to be bothered with
s,,ch business. The Mayor should he n
representative of the city. He should
have larger powers and his Office be
made more important. lie should have,
too, the appointing Of the police force.
The police should he appointed by fhe
Mayor and the appointments ratified
bv the council am not a candidate
for Office and would not be under any
consideration. 10 am free Ia offer that
suggestion. The police force should be
enlarged and the fee system done away
with entirely. | do not believe an eff
cisnt police force can be kept up under
tine fee system. They should he paid
enough To make their places worth some
thing to them.
Mr.. WIN. ii. Parker. of Griffin N Par
ker. dropped into The NEWS Office last
night. He was asked for his views. but
said he had not given the subject ~ ths
new charter much consideration.
But" said he. 1--WE must have better
sidewalks. Ii IL the most pressing need
Of Palatka Just now. Substantial side
walks should be laid all through the city
and the owners of property abufting on
them should Ise made to pay for them.
It's the Ok Now.
New York star
That extreme sensitive and scrupulouI
regard for veracity that causes 81. Je
! rome Edmunds to complain that the Sen
ate clock stole ten minutes II noon os
| ~. 1eh NJ March never frOiblef the Ver